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Originally Posted by polak
Movies still get the majority of their revenue from theaters. I personally still see movies that I would pay money to see in theaters. There is no way I'd pay 7 or 8 bucks to watch a movie that I didn't want to see in theaters. The movies most casual people pirate, are movies they normally wouldn't pay anything to see anyways. (There are the hardcores that pirate everything. I've never met anyone like that though so hard to comment).
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Lots of people pirate everything. I know a family guy, professed law and order type. He has hundreds and hundreds of pirated movies. That's what his family does for fun - watch movies. He hasn't paid for a movie, in any format, in years. Funniest part is the guy is a software developer and he can't see the hypocrisy between what he does for fun and what he does for a living.
I know another guy who is a huge music fan. Used to buy 50-60 CDs a year. Once he discovered Limewire and similar services, he stopped buying music altogether. Now he does most of his listening on Youtube and spends zero on music.
Quote:
Originally Posted by polak
Music was due for a market correction and the artists have adapted just fine. They make their money from shows. Lots and lots of it.
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Big acts make lots of money from touring. And of course, ticket prices for live shows have gone through the roof.
But there's more to publishing a professional-quality song than an artist. You need producers, arrangers, and editors. Often performers don't even write the songs they play. So how are all those supporting professionals supposed to be paid?
Quote:
Originally Posted by polak
One thing to add, if you're not selling enough copies but your product is routinely pirated, maybe you've overestimated how much people are willing to pay?
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I'll turn that around: If you don't value something enough to pay for it, why do you expect other people to put resources into producing it?
If consumers think that the only people who will take the hit from open digital access to entertainment is the big bad producers, they're kidding themselves. When the dust has settled the entire mid-list of music, movies, games, books, etc. will be devastated. All that will be left is a handful of mega-hits, and a vast sea of amateur material created by the very young and people who have private patrons. Professionals who need to earn a living are no longer going to work in the entertainment industry, and the consumer will learn belatedly how much value those professionals added to the end product.